In 1873 Peter Larson and his wife purchased this quarter section, 160 acres, of land from the First Swedish Land Company of Chicago, part of the original purchase from the Union Pacific Railroad. On it was built a stone house and a stone stable with a Roman arch. Due to President Abraham Lincoln's Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, the couple farmed the land for five years, at which time they sold the homestead in 1878 to Fred Helm and his wife who farmed it to 1920. They added a two story wood addition to the back of the house.

Emil and Lydia purchased the homestead from bachelors Elmer and David Olson in 1936 and let them live there and farm the land until their deaths. They then hired a neighbor farmer to work the land which was rich river bottom soil producing bountiful beautiful crops of wheat and milo through the years.

Thirty years later upon the death of Emil, the homestead passed on to his niece Nina Sohlberg Fry, my grandmother, then in 1974 to my mother Lois Fry Cochran, and in 1996 to my sister, Melinda Cochran O'Leary, and me.

It was in the early 1970s all farm owners were directed to give their farms a name, so our mother named the farmland "Peaceful Acres" for it was just that when she visited it. This name replaced the "Old Deere Farm" local reference.

In 2001 on October 30, our father Gene Cochran named the Swedish stone house, "Swede House," when the initial clearing projects began with the Lindsborg Swedes.

Claude Koehn of Marquette, a restorer of stone house in the Smoky Valley, performed a miracle with the stable which was to be turned into "The Smoky Valley Outdoor Classroom," an idea that had promise with some there.

Master Plan of Peaceful Acres, March 14 2004

I loved the ruins of Peaceful Acres, the rich soil, the sound of the birds and insects in the wheat or milo. I loved it because my parents loved it and my grandmother Nina loved it and Lydia and Emil loved it -- it was our family's 75 year love affair with this beauty piece of Swedish Kansas! And, I hated to have to sell it as a result of the 2008 economic recession, thus not being able to realize the mission and vision of my dreams. Yet, working through some of the plan, in itself, was worth the effort in retrospect and now I can share some of this with you, the viewer!

Below are the Mission and Vision of Peaceful Acres that were to guide me through which developed after the dedication in 1998.

A permit was granted from the Planning Commision in Saline County to have a large sign with these words near the road on the property:

The Dedication of Peaceful Acres with the Smoky Valley Lindsborg Swedes in 1998

Lindsborg Swedes clearing in and around Swede House and the Western Wall and Smoky Valley Outdoor Classroom from 2001 to 2011.

Swedish Farmstead not eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places or the Register of Kansas Historic Places --KHS

Knowing how I loved Peaceful Acres and the Swedish Farmstead ruins, dear Swedes from Lindsborg had crafted for me a Cross on a stone and a Cross on a piece of wood from Swede House. The square head nails forming the two crosses were from Swede House. What could be more precious and symbolic than that, concluding this journey of my family's pioneer ownership of this special piece of Swedish Christian Kansas land! How thoughtful!